My name is Alejandro and I am a dual degree student in Ivey business and civil engineering. My career goal is to specialize in transportation infrastructure consulting and engineering. My interest in sustainability stems from a desire to maintain the environment better than past generations with the goal of passing on our natural heritage to future generations. I was born in Caracas, Venezuela and grew up seeing the natural beauties of the Caribbean and the Amazon. These have been life-shaping experiences that have enriched the way I see the planet we live on and our connection to it. 

What is your personal definition of sustainability? 

I consider sustainability to be the ability of a process or product to achieve continuity without negative externalities. For this, I envision systems and processes that not only do not produce waste but fit perfectly into a circular economy where the sourcing of products begins with the end of another. However, most importantly, sustainability is the responsibility that we all have to give future generations an equal or better environment to live as what we ourselves have received.    

What role do you see sustainability playing in your professional career?

Sustainability is expected to become one of the greatest priorities of the future across all industries. Still, transportation and other infrastructure account for roughly a third of emissions within Ontario, massively impacting my aspirations of a career in transportation infrastructure consulting. I am sure that there will be a need for a deep understanding of how to create sustainability within cities and how the built environment can help humans live more sustainably. I believe that sustainability is not achieved through the righteous actions people decide to take; instead, it is to be achieved through the intuitive design of a smart human environment. This could include things like smart water recycling and management programs, transit and active transportation infrastructure, and many more government policies to build sustainable city environments. Throughout the engineering industry, there will be a greater need for those who can navigate through the business of sustainable design and quantify the far-reaching impacts of current human development on future generations. 

What sustainability projects have you been engaged in?

My main experience in furthering sustainability projects has been in my two summer terms (8 months) of work experience as an infrastructure planning assistant engineer at the Regional Municipality of Halton. While in this position, I worked mostly within transportation with some water resource protection work. Due to transportation being the largest source of emission in Ontario, my role within the municipality was working on multi-modal projects that combatted automobile dependence and gave residents low-carbon options for mobility through collaboration with transit agencies or building active transportation infrastructure for walking or biking. Furthermore, I helped the Region begin its zero-emission vehicle strategies to increase the uptake and implementation of battery-powered vehicles. Next, in the Water Resource Protection division, I took samples of the natural environment, from creeks to lakes to groundwater reservoirs; it was my job to measure the impacts of the human consumption of water within the Region. Moreover, along with fellow engineers and geologists, I formulated different ways to express the data I collected for water pumping permits to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.